“WE can’t sleep in an email!”

That was the reaction of a colleague’s girlfriend when he informed her that, having been left in charge of booking accommodation for their holiday, he had “sent the hotel an email”.

Having received no reply to said email, the couple had to scour the streets of Croatia for a room when they arrived at their destination – thankfully finding a bed for the night just before midnight.

Is it any wonder then, that new research shows women don’t trust men to book the summer holiday?

A survey by online flight finder InvisibleHand, found that seven in ten women still insist on taking charge when it comes to that fortnight in the sun, with almost 20 per cent admitting they don’t trust anyone else to do it.

“Women do tend to make the final decision,” said Sally Pullen, a personal travel counsellor based in Southbourne.

“The only instance probably when men do the booking is if men go on their own.

“If people come in as a couple it would end up with an argument in front of you.

“The ladies would try and get all the extras that they could, like a balcony or a sea view, so any little extras that would enhance the holiday experience they would try and persuade the partners to book.

“Men might have some input as to how much is being spent, they’re probably just worried about the date and price.”

Sally added that, if men did come in on their own, they more often than not had a set of instructions from their other half, and would have to phone to confirm all the details with them before signing on the dotted line.

But just why are we women so intent on having our way when it comes to holidays?

“I think women tend to have a final say in a lot of things really and I guess holidays is another part of that,” said Sally.

“Perhaps the men don’t want to take the responsibility to take the decision with the holiday and then they get the blame for it all going wrong.”

“I also think a lot of men probably want to live with the idea for a bit, where as women want to make the decision there and then, and book it.”

According to Gareth Duggan, executive manager for the Westbourne branch of Bath Travel, it’s all about confidence.

“I doubt whether there are many men with the confidence to book something without consulting their partners,” he said.

“In the end, a lot of the direction will come down to the woman because most men would defer to a woman to keep them happy.

“Even when I’ve got a couple in front of me, generally the man wouldn’t go against the woman’s wishes. Perhaps men just don’t care as much, unless it’s a sports event or something.

Women may feel obliged to wear the trousers when it comes to booking holidays; a quarter of those questioned by InvisibleHand apparently wish someone else would do it for them for a change.

“The best thing of all, occasionally we would get men in to book a holiday as a surprise,” said Sally.

“That would be every woman’s dream really. But sadly, that just doesn’t happen very often.”